FELT like adopting an animal on what would have been my mom and dad's anniversary, which this year was the day before Mother's Day. So I adopted the animal I had that was closest to what my mom would have liked, which was my American cocker spaniel.

Because one of my favorite writers, Gladys Taber, raised cocker spaniels at her home, "Stillmeadow," in Southbury, Connecticut, I wanted to name the spaniel something in tribute. I couldn't decide among any of the real dogs' names ("Honey" and "Teddy" were two of the buff-colored cockers she had) and I don't particularly like "Gladys" and wasn't sure about "Jill," who was Taber's best friend.

So I simply named her "Stillmeadow" or "Meadow" for short (with no reference to The Sopranos, for gossakeswhat kind of good Italian name is "Meadow" anyway; Italian girls usually receive saints' names).

ONE of the free pet cards I received in the Series 1 trading cards was a panda, so when they announched that the panda would be the May Pet of the Month, I was inspired to use the card.

I thought hard about a traditional panda name, but gave him a less typical one. Traditional dominos are black and white, and of course the panda looks masked. Back in the days of masked balls, a mask was also called a "domino," so it fit as well.

Dom came with the steam-powered television, which is a funny-looking gadget, and also with another W1000 coin and also a disco ball. I take it from messages that disco balls are highly prized, so it looks like I can trade this one since I already have another.